Preservers of the Historic Ma & Pa Railroad
Preservers of the Historic Ma & Pa Railroad
This tool house was the headquarters for the Ma & Pa's Muddy Creek Forks section gang. The section gang, consisting of a foreman and five to seven track workers, was responsible for the maintenance of about ten miles of track through the Muddy Creek Valley. They handled all maintenance from tie replacement to surfacing the track, tamping ballast, and clearing snow in the winter. Only bridge and trestle repairs were handled by a special gang, based in Fallston, Maryland, that operated over the entire railroad. Once a week the foreman walked his section from end to end to inspect it and ensure its safety. The motor car used by the section gang and all of their tools were housed in the tool house.
This structure is typical of those used all along the Ma & Pa. Note the use of a slate roof on this rather humble structure. Slate from the quarries of Delta and Whiteford was a principal traffic item for the railroad, and all railroad buildings had slate roofs. Over the years track workers recorded on the inside walls of this building the dates of early snowfalls and the dates and water levels for major floods